Ajit Rai from Cannes, France

He said that for young actors around the world, watching De Niro's work is the ultimate training for how physical transformation is possible while playing a character.

He has become a classic in acting. Many generations of actors have become superstars by watching his acting. His father was a famous painter. He was interested in art since childhood. His cinematic partnership with Martin Scorsese is unparalleled and redefines the relationship between actor and director. They have brought iconic stories to life in cinema without compromise.

DiCaprio said that his father used to take him to see De Niro's films. In Taxi Driver, Godfather-2, Deer Hunter, Killers of the Flower Moon, and many other films, he told the main story of the film without uttering a single word. It is amazing.

DiCaprio shared his experience working on Martin Scorsese's last film, 'Killers of the Flower Moon', with Robert De Niro, saying it was the most important time of his life.

Robert De Niro started his speech by opposing the announcement made by US President Donald Trump to impose a 100 percent tariff on cinema made outside America.

He said that this cannot be accepted under any circumstances. He even said that the world fraternity of cinema should run a campaign against this decision of Trump. 

He said that we should oust him from power by voting against him so that democracy remains safe. He said that democracy in America has reached hell and art is in danger. Donald Trump has made huge cuts in the budget of education, culture and arts.

In fact, dictators around the world are most afraid of art and cinema. This is not just America's problem, it is happening all over the world. Freedom of cinema and the arts is in danger, and we all have to unite and oppose these efforts.

Recalling his fifty years of association with the Cannes Film Festival, he said that he first visited Cannes in 1973. Since then, he has seen that the festival is dedicated to freedom of expression in art and cinema. A special master class with Robert De Niro is being organized at the festival.

Jury president Juliette Binoche expressed concern over the attacks on art and artists around the world. She said that Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassoun died along with ten members of her family in a missile attack on 16 April.

A day before her death, she found out that her film had been selected for the Cannes Film Festival. She wrote that death passed through her. The shooter's bullet passed through me, and I became an angel.

Fatima was to be among us today. She said that global filmmakers would have to unite and fight against the attacks on artists. On this occasion, tribute was paid to the famous Hollywood filmmaker David Lynch.

There is a lot of buzz here about the world premiere of Tom Cruise's new film 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' at the festival, directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

A special master class is also being organised with him. Last year, a new section of films based on artificial intelligence and virtual reality, Immersive Competition, was introduced at the Cannes Film Festival, which was very successful.

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This time too nine films are being shown in this section. Apart from these films, an exhibition of many projects of young experimenters based on the audio-visual medium and technical wonders has also been put up.